The folks over at Vulture caught up with Hamm, and it’s a testament to the pervasiveness of this theory that, given a few seconds to talk with him at a party, they didn’t ask, “Hey! Where’s Betty?” or “Are you and Peggy gonna hook up?” or even about the D.B. Cooper theory everyone is on about now, they wanted to know his thoughts on the Sharon Tate connection.

“I don’t give very much credence to it,” said Hamm. “Although, certainly it was on people’s minds in the world of the show. It’s an interesting theory, but I don’t know how much validity there is to it. But it’s a great compliment that people are thinking that deeply about the show.”

He doesn’t give very much credence to it. See? Case closed, right? Sure. Yes! Maybe. I mean, remember when Christin Milioti said that the theory about the mother dying in How I Met Your Mother was “insane”? Well, she didn’t say it wasn’t true, just that it was “insane.” And Hamm is not saying it’s not true, just that he doesn’t give “very much credence to it” and that it is “interesting.” And remember when Damon Lindelof specifically said that Lost wouldn’t end in purgatory?

All I’m saying it, you can’t believe everything every actor says, especially when you don’t WANT to believe it.

If Megan gets murdered, it would be a huge television moment. It could make or break this show. However, Tom and Lorenzo note that Joan dressed like Marilyn, Betty dressed like Grace Kelly, and neither of them met the fates of their idols.

Shit, I was so pissed when I saw this post that I commented, quoting that same passage from TLo, without seeing you’d already mentioned it. My apologies (but always glad to find another TLo reader in these parts).

“And yes, she’s serving up some serious Sharon Tate here, just like Joan used to serve up Marilyn and Betty used to serve up Grace Kelly. Joan didn’t die of a pill overdose and Betty hasn’t driven her car off a cliff. We’re pretty sure any references being made to movie stars doesn’t mean the characters will share their fates.”

So, rather than say, “That’s a really stupid fucking question,” Jon Hamm decided to be a bit more diplomatic in his answer. Jesus Christ man, would you please stop writing about this nonsense? It’s just becoming embarrassing.

Huh. I don’t think it’s a particularly outlandish theory. Not because of these small surface connections like tshirts and trivial things like that, but because of what Sharon Tate represents in the pop culture consciousness.
Sure, other characters evoke other icons (the Marilyn and Grace Kelly connections), and it seems Mad Men characters often become avatars for people or ideas of the culture at that time. So with that, what does Sharon Tate represent — we remember her because of what happened to her, and the shockwaves of fear and distrust connected with those murders. I’d argue that if Monroe and Kelly are avatars for style and gentility, than Tate is an avatar for the end of trust (in a broad end-of-innocence kind of way) and ultimately the 60s.
Alternately, it’s an event that might not only synch up well with those ideas, but also really underlines Don’s effect on the women (and children) in his life.
That being said, it’s a really tricky move. As someone pointed out – could make or break the entire show, it’s such a heavy choice.